RUST N’ RAGE
“One For The Road”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9.5/10

Rust N’ Rage are a hard rock band from Finland founded in 2010 by guitarist Johnny, and drummer Jezzie – the band completed by vocalist Vince, and bass player Eddy. The bands musical influences originate from the eighties, with such legendary icons as Guns N’ Roses, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, and Dokken. Rust N’ Rage have released three albums to date – ‘Showdown’ (2013), ‘Tales From The Wasteland’ (2017), and ‘One For The Road’, released in 2022…

…featuring forty two minutes of ass kicking hard rock across eleven heavy hitting songs. The band have already forged a reputation for their energetic and lively stage performances, and have managed to transfer that energy onto record for their new album ‘One For The Road’, which comes to life with the very lively ‘Prisoner’, and the rock roller coaster begins! Hitting harder than a world champion boxer ‘Prisoner’, replete with its highly sing a long-able chorus, is an absolute barn stomer, and an excellent way to open your new album. An album that strides on with the slower tempo’d but nonetheless energetic ‘Ghost Town’ – causing heads everywhere to involuntarily start nodding. A hard rocking foot stomper, ‘Ghost Town’ is a mighty swagger of heavy hitting hard rock.

And the group singing that opens the title song ‘One For The Road’ is the stuff of late nights sat on beach knocking back drinks around a smouldering fire having a good ol’ fashioned sing a long! The mix of soft, pop, and hard rock is gonna appeal to a wide audience who are all gonna participate in the sing a long – ‘One For The Road’ surely going to go down a fucking storm live! And bringing a touch of AOR to the album, Rust N’ Rage deliver ‘The Future Is For The Strong’ at a lively pace that has so much melodious intent it’s incredible. The mix of rock styles across the first four songs is staggering, highly entertaining and enthralling. This is one album to play while cruising in the car, err, does anyone still cruise? Or is it only me! Maybe it’s a “back in the day” thing – but whatever it is, ‘One For The Road’ (the album) is a happy mood inducing, feel good romp of cracking tunes.

And talking of cracking tunes – ‘Heartbreaker’ is a blistering thunder storm of heavy hitting bangs, cracks and snaps. The pace is phenomenal, and with its head bang-able attitude, ‘Heartbreaker’ will keep the head bangers of the world very happy. The energy level since the album began has been sky high, and with no sign of it dropping, Rust N’ Rage move swiftly on with the bustling ‘Hang ‘Em High’. Lively and fiery just doesn’t do ‘Hang ‘Em High’ justice, the songs swagger very loud and proud. With its bluesy Southern rock style entrance onto the album, ‘Ride On’ quickly transforms into a heavy hitting eighties/nineties sleaze rocker, with bands such as Motley Crue, Ratt, and Skid Row springing immediately to mind – Rust N’ Rage really running the gamut of hard rock styles.

Enter a cracking party anthem courtesy of ‘I’ve Had Enough’ – a thunder driven tune that will have even the most tired of party goers up on their feet strutting their stuff one more time – with the feel good factor oozing out of ‘I’ve Had Enough’ higher than the Majakka high-rise tower in Helsinki. What a high energy album the Finnish rockers have under their belts. And for the first time since ‘One For The Road’ (the album) began, we hear the unmistakable strains of ballad country calling, as ‘Unbreakable’ glides in and wanders on, lifting the lighters of listeners high in the air. A definite sway from side to side and let yourself go with the mellow flow moment.

‘Cause that flow doesn’t stay for long – Rust N’ Rage immediately picking up the pace and tempo, flying forth with the energy driven rock ‘n’ roller ‘The Throne’. And a huge Motley Crue feel too – the energy, the pizzazz, and the high pitched vocals are all reminiscent of the American hard rockers. And so, the rock roller coaster comes to an end with ‘Moving On’, another heavy hitting yet melodic slab of rock with a sky high feel good factor and an insane amount of energy. Where the band get their energy from I really don’t know, but I do hope it’s a limitless supply, for when the band hit the road in support of ‘One For The Road’ (the album) they’re gonna need all the energy they can lay their hands on.

Overall, Rust N’ Rage deliver a relentlessly rumbling roller coaster ride of raucous and rabble rousing hard rock.

TRACKLIST

Prisoner
Ghost Town
One For The Road
The Future Is For The Strong
Heartbreaker
Hang ‘Em High
Ride On
I’ve Had Enough
Unbreakable
The Throne
Moving On

https://rustnrage.com/
https://www.facebook.com/rustnrageofficial

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